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By Steve Slater
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - New Zealander Ross McEwan shockedRoyal Bank of Scotland investors in March with a bluntmessage in his first presentation in London: there are no goodBritish banks.
RBS had hired McEwan to shake up retail banking and neitherhe nor his audience knew that five months later he would bepromoted to run the entire bank - one of the toughest jobs inBritish business.
McEwan, whose appointment as chief executive was announcedon Friday, is considered a safe, politically acceptable choiceto lead a bank that is 81-percent owned by the government.
He will need to quickly build ties with regulators andlawmakers as he gets RBS into a position where the governmentcan sell its stake at a profit, his top priority.
With the future of RBS increasingly seen in retail andcommercial banking, McEwan fits a trend for retail bankers toget the top job, such as Barclays' chief executiveAntony Jenkins and Lloyds' Antonio Horta-Osorio.
"McEwan's appointment makes sense if you are looking atsomebody who fits into the mould of an Antony Jenkins template,a retail-focused banker. When you hear Jenkins or AntonioHorta-Osorio speaking the tone is very customer-focused," said asource with knowledge of the recruitment process.
McEwan has kept a low profile since arriving at RBS lastSeptember. He moved to the Edinburgh-based bank after missingout on the top job at Commonwealth Bank of Australia,where he had run retail banking for five years. He has worked inthe financial services industry in Australia and New Zealand formore than 25 years.
McEwan may be a New Zealander, but his Scottish name couldendear him to the bank's heartland.
"Reviresco" is the McEwan, or McEwen, clan family mottowhich translates as: "I grow strong again".
While most of the major restructuring was done by outgoingchief executive Stephen Hester, who brought RBS back from thebrink of collapse before being ousted by the government, thereis still a long "to do" list waiting for McEwan.
NO GOOD BANKS
A keen cyclist and water skier, McEwan is a big fan of theAll Blacks, the world's leading rugby team. He played basketballfor Massey University, one of New Zealand's top universities,where he studied business and met his wife, Stephanie, whoplayed on the women's basketball team.
He has admitted that while at Massey he failed an accountingexam twice and, like many other students, spent long hours inthe Fitz pub, gym and cafeteria.
McEwan has a relaxed, personable manner but a blunt approachto business, according to people who know him.
That was clear when he told investors and analysts at theMarch presentation he had been shocked by what he had found inBritish banking.
"Having come into this market six months ago I've been quitesurprised at how bad this industry is from a retail bankingperspective." That view had upset many of his staff but wasundeniable based on industry complaints data, he said.
"I would even go to say that there's not a good retail bankin the UK and our job is to create that," he said.
As well as poor treatment of customers - shown by an insurance mis-selling scandal that has cost UK banks 15 billionpounds ($22.7 billion) in compensation - UK banks also lagbehind in their use of technology and were too complex, McEwansaid.
Outgoing CEO Hester said on Friday he had kept the promisehe made McEwan and his wife when he was trying to tempt them toleave Australia last year.
"I promised him an adventure and I think he will accept thatan adventure is what we've delivered," Hester said.
